


A Reaction

by lilly_the_kid



Category: Il buono il brutto il cattivo | The Good The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
Genre: Character Study, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Pre-Slash, Western
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-10 18:01:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,238
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28071378
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lilly_the_kid/pseuds/lilly_the_kid
Summary: He liked having to guess what the other was going to do. And he liked being right. Most of the time.
Relationships: "Blondie" | The Man with No Name/Tuco Ramirez
Comments: 10
Kudos: 21
Collections: Yuletide 2020





	A Reaction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [deepandlovelydark](https://archiveofourown.org/users/deepandlovelydark/gifts).



Things were going great. Tuco was pleased. He was worth 500$ and he had a great partner. They had a reliable source of income and it was only going to get better. Soon he'd be worth 1.000$, then 2.000$, then 3.000$. 

With that kind of money you could start doing something that would really get you rich. Hire some men, rob the wealthy. Gain fame and fortune. Have others know your name. He frowned. Well, his name at least. He doubted very much that Blondie's name was actually Blondie. 

There were moments when that bothered him. That not even he knew his real name. But then he thought, what was a name anyway? It was just something that connected you to the past. And the past didn't matter. No, what mattered was here and now. What they did. Nothing else. 

Well, the future. The future mattered as well. And the names they'd make for themselves. Once they were famous and feared, old names were truly unimportant. The new name would become the only one. And he knew his new name. And that was good enough.

Or so he told himself.

He looked over at Blondie who was cleaning his gun on the other side of the fire. He did so calmly and methodically. Like he did everything. He never lost his temper and he never let his cards show. 

Tuco was intrigued by this. Had been from the beginning. He liked having to guess what the other was going to do. And he liked being right. Most of the time. Tuco frowned. Yes, most of the time he could read Blondie just fine and then something would happen and Blondie's reaction would be something Tuco would have never anticipated. It was exciting and frustrating at the same time. But it was also something he longed for. A reaction he hadn't anticipated. 

"So, you think it's gonna be a 1.000$ soon?" Tuco looked at Blondie, studying his face. There was a brief smile. Interesting.

"Sure."

Tuco waited, but that seemed to be all Blondie was going to say. He grinned.

"Good, good. Yes, I think so, too. You see, we're a good team and this is a good system. We can do this forever."

Blondie's hands stopped for a brief moment. Just a second, then they continued to clean the gun. But Tuco noticed. Interesting. He kept grinning.

"Yes, you and me. Right?" 

There was the smile again. Brief and gone in an instant.

"Sure."

\--------------

The rope was tight around his neck and there was sweat running down his face. Tuco squinted, the sun was in his eyes. The horse underneath moved nervously, affected by the mood of the crowd. 

Business as usual.

It wasn't exactly pleasant, but Tuco wasn't worried. He knew that Blondie was watching. Probably from a roof top. The gallows were standing at the outskirts of town and there was a barn near by. The last time they spoke Blondie mentioned it being a good vantage point. 

Tuco had just shrugged. That wasn't his concern, that was Blondie's job. And he trusted him to make the right call.

The listing of his evil deeds went on and on. Tuco was bored. He'd heard it all before. And some of it wasn't even true. Well, not completely at least. He and Blondie might have spread some rumours. So that the bounty would end up a little higher. You had work on these things if you ever wanted to be successful in this business. Everybody did it. Tuco was sure of it. 

Most of it was true, though. You had to have something to back it all up. That's what you needed, something real. Like real fear in the eyes of someone who recognized you. People may not have a lot of respect for guys like him. But fear was just as good, maybe even better. 

Of course, Blondie didn't like being recognized. He thought it just complicated things. But why do anything, if nobody knows you did it, Tuco had once asked. Blondie had looked at him for a long time. There'd been that brief smile and that had been all.

Tuco blinked another drop of sweat away. He was ready for this to be over once more. 

Later that evening they sat at the camp fire. Blondie wasn't cleaning his guns. He'd already done that. He was smoking and looking into the fire.

Tuco was counting his money. He didn't quite know why. They'd counted and divided it up earlier and it wasn't like there'd been an opportunity to spend it. But he counted it anyway. There was something about it that made him feel, well, something. He wasn't sure what, but something. Good, certainly. Triumphant, yes. But something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.

He frowned and turned the stack of bills in his hand. He looked at it as if he'd never seen anything like it. It wasn't just money. It was promise. It was the future. And the more future there was the better. 

He looked over at Blondie. Blondie was never counting his money. He was also never spending it. At least not on anything but necessities. Another thing Tuco didn't understand. He liked to spend money on things he wanted. That's why it was important that there would be more. Because there were so many more things he wanted. 

Tuco sighed. Thinking about wanting things was a dangerous pastime, he'd found. Especially when he did it while he was around Blondie. 

"Pretty soon we'll be rich," Tuco said, gesturing with the bills in his hand. He grinned at Blondie, waiting for a reaction. 

"Sure." 

Again that word, and only that word. Once again Tuco felt irritated. He felt as if Blondie thought he wasn't worthy of a real response. He also felt as though Blondie was doubting his statement.

"What do you mean 'sure'? Huh? Don't you believe me?" He was still grinning, but he didn't mean it anymore. 

"I just think it's best to count the money after you have it. Not before."

Well, if that didn't sound like doubt, Tuco didn't know what would.

"You worry too much," he said, aiming for pleasantly. 

Blondie shrugged.

"It's what I do, I guess. In this line of work a worried man is a man that stays alive."

Tuco frowned. That was more than he'd expected him to say. And it sounded ominous. Almost like a warning.

\-----------

"1.000$!" Tuco stared at the money in his hand, so beautiful. He held it up in front of Blondie's face. "Just look at it!" It unnerved him how Blondie could remain this calm all the time.

"I see it." Blondie moved his head back slightly when the bills touched his nose. He seemed annoyed and amused, but mostly annoyed.

"You're no fun. Celebrate once in a while. Be happy." Tuco took a step back, though. He put the money away. 

"I'll be happy once we put some more distance between us and that town."

Tuco had to agree with that.

\------------

"1.500$! We made it!" 

"We made it out alive. And we were lucky." 

"Aw, come on now. You always only see the bad things. That's your problem, you know."

"I only see the bad things, because I'm the one cleaning the blood off of them," Blondie said while working on Tuco's arm. A bullet had grazed it on their way out of town. It wasn't too bad, but it was the first time something like this had happened. 

Tuco hissed when Blondie poured some whiskey over the wound.

"Judging by the way you're bitching one could think you're the one who got shot."

"In a way I was. We're a team, right? Can't exactly collect money for a corpse. Well, I could. But only once."

Despite the even tone and stoic face, Blondie seemed to be genuinly upset. And that made Tuco happy in a way he wasn't sure he liked. 

"You just have to do better then, right? Because I'm the one who risks his neck. I'm the one who's tied up. You're the one with the gun. Don't forget that."

Blondie looked at him for an uncomfortably long time.

"I won't."

\-----------

"How much are you worth now?"

Tuco frowned.

"How much? 2.000$," he said. 

"That's right. 2.000$."

"Yeah, 2.000$."

Blondie smirked and put his cigar in Tuco's mouth. 

"I guess, it's time I collect," he said, pulling a piece of rope out of his saddle bag. He gestured for Tuco to turn around. And Tuco did. This was the part he liked best. He'd never admit that, though.

Blondie tied his hands together and once again Tuco was disappointed when he was done. Something about letting Blondie do this felt really good. But it also felt like not enough. This was another one of those occasions where Tuco wished for more of an reaction by Blondie. But there was nothing. He was quite sure there was nothing.

"Let's get you into town."

\------------

They devided up the money. Tuco was excited. And Blondie was calm. Again. Tuco felt annoyed. This idea of wanting a reaction out of Blondie, no matter what kind of reaction, was slowly becoming an obsession. He'd tried with going off on his own, getting something to eat, even though Blondie had thought it was too much of a risk. And he'd been right, as it had turned out.

Blondie had stepped in, shot the guys who'd wanted to turn him in. He hadn't been angry. He'd been calm as usual. 

"Know how much you worth now?"

Tuco counted the money Blondie had handed him.

"No. How much?"

"3.000$."

Tuco looked up and smiled. There was something in Blondie's voice that made him take notice. Mabe this was the time to push a little harder for that reaction.

"There are two kinds of people in the world, my friend. Those with the rope around their neck and the people with the job of doing the cutting." Blondie lit a match. Tuco continued. "Listen. The neck at the end of the rope is mine. I run the risks. So the next time I want more than half."

Blondie chuckled.

"You may run the risks, my friend. But I do the cutting. We cut down my percentage and- Cigar?" Tuco took the offered cigar, eager to hear what Blondie was going to say. This might just be it. The reaction he'd been looking for.

"It might interfere with my aim," Blondie continued with a smug grin on his face.

"Hm." Tuco shrugged.

"But if you'll miss, you better miss very well. Whoever doublecrosses me and leaves me alive, he understands nothing about Tuco. Nothing."

He laughed. This was getting interesting.

\-------------

This time it almost didn't work. Tuco could still feel the rope cutting off his air and it wasn't pleasant. 

Riding behind Blondie on his horse was pleasant, though. It almost made up for it. Almost. But he was still angry. He was sure that it had just been an honest mistake. Blondie was a good shot, but he wasn't perfect. These things could happen. And yet.

"Anybody can miss a shot. Nobody misses when I'm at the end of the rope. You never had a rope around your neck. Well, I'm going to tell you something. When that rope starts to pull tight, you can feel the devil bite your ass."

Blondie stopped the horse. He sighed.

"Yeah, you're right." Blondie grabbed the rope that was still around Tuco's neck and pulled, making Tuco get off the horse.

"It's getting tougher. The way I figure, there's really not too much of a future with a sawed off runt like you."

"What do you mean?" Tuco narrowed his eyes.

"I don't think you'll ever be worth more than 3.000$."

"What do you mean?" Despite the desert heat Tuco felt cold all of the sudden.

Blondie looked away. He seemed almost bored. 

"I mean our partnership is untied."

Tuco looked down at his hands, wrists still bound. Blondie followed his gaze.

"Oh no." He smiled, the smug bastard. "Not you. You remain tied. I'll keep the money and you can have the rope."

No, no, no, Tuco thought. This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.

"You filthy doublecrossing bastard! Of all the dirty stinking tricks-"

"The way back to town is only 70 miles. Now, if you save your breath I feel like you could manage it." Blondie tipped his hat. "Adios." He rode off.

The rest is a blur. Tuco remembers screaming, he remembers being so goddamn angry. He wanted a reaction and he got one. But how could Blondie be this stupid? He had told him what happened to people that would dare doublecross him. Didn't he take him seriously?

He saw Blondie stopping and looking back at him. Almost like an invitation. Like he was waiting for something.

He tried pleading once more. Then Blondie took off. Tuco yelled and kicked the dust. But something gave him pause. 

Blondie wasn't stupid. He knew that. And he'd told Blondie that anyone who'd doublecross him and leave him alive didn't understand him at all. But Blondie understood him. He was sure of that. Well, he thought so at least. 

Despite the anger he started to grin. Blondie just made his move. And now it was his turn.

\------------


End file.
